LOA: 55′ 8″
DWL: 40′
Beam: 12′ 5″
Draft: 7′ 9″
Sail area: 1.354 sq. ft.

After completing Masquerade Pieter soon realised two things. The extreme satisfaction that building your own boat brings to you and that he wanted to have a larger yacht on which he could live and cruise after his retirement. Studying a book of yachts drawn by Olin Stephens soon brought him to Avanti, a beautiful, 57 foot S&S yawl built in 1935 but lost in a hurricane in 1954. Work started on this new yacht in 2013 and if he isn’t distracted too much by his regular work as shown here in this book she could be launched in late 2018.

Although only 8 feet longer than Masquerade this vessel has nearly twice the volume and it therefore once more defies any normal manner of thinking that one man working totally on his own and in between regular projects has built this yacht in 8 years. What is even more astounding is the quality of finish and the attention to detail. Like Masquerade she is built strip-planked which means that long, thin strips of wood are glued and screwed to a backbone of frames and bulkheads. When finished most of these frames are removed leaving a clean and spacious interior. The hull is then coated inside and out with epoxy sheathing for strength and ease of maintenance. After fairing and painting the vessel looks like a true classic yacht, an effect that is only strengthened by the beautiful teak deckhouse and hatches, the carefully laid teak deck and custom made stainless steel deck fittings.

A step below into her spacious interior is like stepping back in time into an old yacht. Thanks to the methods used and the choice of materials Pieter has managed to recreate a brand new interior that immediately has the patina and atmosphere of an older yacht. With this vessel Pieter has delivered a yacht that would be the pride of any of the most prestigious yacht builders anywhere in the world.